The illustrative embodiments relate generally to medical treatment systems and, more particularly, to pressure switches, transmitters, systems, and methods for monitoring a pressure at a tissue site.
Tissue sites on a patient's body often experience varying levels of pressure due to the position or behavior of the patient. A patient or caretaker may desire to know whether the pressure exerted on a particular tissue site is excessive. By way of example, the foot ulcers experienced by a diabetic patient may undergo varying levels of pressure due to certain behaviors, such as walking. Off-loading shoes or boots may be used to alleviate pressure on the foot ulcer, but do not always effectively reduce the pressure on the foot ulcers. In addition, more than 82 percent of diabetic patients may also lack the protective sensation to determine whether excessive amounts of pressure are being exerted on the ulcer. This lack of protective sensation may be caused by peripheral neuropathy, which often afflicts diabetic patients having ulcers.